


Would You Spare Me This Dance(r)

by TheBella



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ballet Dancer Lance (Voltron), Dancer Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Insecure Lance (Voltron), M/M, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Samurai Shiro, Soft Shiro (Voltron), Soft shance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, tiny lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-05-12 15:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19232098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBella/pseuds/TheBella
Summary: Every night at the museum is generally the same: Shiro wakes up, he lives his life, and then he goes back to sleep. When a visiting collection arrives, one piece brings out the best in him. For Lance, this feels like his first time truly waking up and he doesn't want it to end.Night at the Museum AU





	1. A Visiting Collection

**Author's Note:**

> A few notes:  
> The Lance and Lotor content comes in during chapter 3, didn't want anyone thinking I jibed them if they were here especially for that.  
> If you've seen Night at the Museum you know it is the Pharaoh's tablet. I know Hunk isn't Egyptian but I felt like character wise it was a good fit.  
> This does not follow the plot of Night at the Museum, but there are a few references and I will explain if there is any confusion. Enjoy!

Shiro blinked his eyes awake. He slowly lifted his arms to take off his helmet and then he cracked his neck. "Shiro, wait!" That was his friend Keith. "Someone is coming." Shiro froze in that position, his helmet slung underneath his arm.

He watched as the night guard rounded the corner and quickly fell out of his stance. "Hey Matt," Shiro called. 

"Shiro, Keith," he said as he walked up to their exhibit. The men were samurai in the Japanese exhibit of the museum. "Pidge is here setting up an exhibit if you want to say hi."

Keith also removed his helmet and the men placed them on a wagon that was behind them. Matt guided them towards the exhibit hall where Pidge was working. Hunk was already there helping the curator set up the hall.

"Hello your highness," Shiro said as he gave Hunk a small bow, Keith doing the same. 

"Shiro, stop iiittttt," Hunk wined. "Just Hunk."

"Without you and the tablet we wouldn't be alive. The least I can do is give you your proper due respect," Shiro said with a small smirk as Hunk huffed.

"It's fine Hunk, I'll get that stick out of his ass one day," Keith joked. Shiro looked offended as the rest of the group laughed. "Do you need any help Pidge?"

"That would be great Keith," Pidge said. "Hunk can take you to the storage area. Start bringing the boxes out." The trio made their way to a back area and began bringing the boxes out on dollies. They wheeled them out, but once they made it to the exhibit hall they heard banging from the inside of one box. 

"Those got here today before the sun went down, they must be awake," Pidge explained. The intensity of the banging increased. 

Shiro held his ear to the box. Small cries of "Help!" could be heard from the inside. He quickly removed his sword from his hip and used it to open the top of the box. 

Shiro was the first to look inside. A young man made of bronze crouched down and hid behind his hands. The sight almost broke Shiro's heart. The first time waking up was always a jarring and sometimes scary experience. Shiro gave him a soft smile as the young man put his hands down and looked up. 

The young man held his arms up towards the samurai. The warrior reached in and lifted him up. The young man was tiny, but he still weighed a bit. He gently placed the young man onto the floor and got on one knee as to not frighten him with his size. After all, he was just below Shiro's knee. 

With a gentle grace the young man approached Shiro and did his best to wrap his arms around the other man's torso. "Thank you for saving me..." Shiro gently wrapped his large arms around the young man. The rest of the group watched in silent awe, the beauty of the whole thing taking their breath away.

\---

That night was filled with becoming acquainted to the small, bronze man. As Pidge worked, the night guard and the exhibits sat in a circle. The young man sat on Shiro's knee. Pidge explained that this was an exhibit for Edgar Degas, a man famous mostly for painting ballerinas. Later on, many of his sculptures were caste in bronze by the artists family so they could be better maintained.

The young man explained who he was, a dancer by the name of Lance McClain. The magic of the tablet worked in mysterious ways. Any figure that actually survived during history had the same memories as that person. Shiro and Keith weren't real people during their lives so they don't have memories per say, but they knew everything there was to being a samurai. 

Lance explained that through a series of events he made his way from Cuba to Paris, an impressive feat for someone of his age and status. He was found by the artist and asked to be a model for one of his statues. Lance immediately agreed. Degas only presented one statue to the public and she was already on display elsewhere in the museum. Pidge explained how she would later be brought into the exhibit hall as the centerpiece. The twinkle in Lance's eyes dimmed a bit at that, but he was back to his cheery self in under a minute. 

"This feels like my first time being alive, like ever! How is that even possible?" Lance asked.

"My tablet has the power to bring things to life," Hunk explained. "I'm a permanent resident in the museum and so is the tablet, so every night everything wakes up." 

"Wow, that's awesome! Does anyone else know about how everything comes to life?" 

"Just me, Pidge, and the museums directors, Allura and Coran," Matt explained. "They don't know what would happen if the public found out about the tablet. Someone would probably steal it." The thought sent a shiver down Hunk's spine.

"That's why I'm the only curator allowed here at night," Pidge explained. "I am in charge of all the traveling exhibits so no one else comes in and finds out." 

Lance looked behind him to a large poster featuring a sculpture by Degas. The date at the bottom stretched from the start of June to halfway through July. "I guess I'll only have a little time before I go back to sleep forever." He had a somber look on his face, but as soon as it was there it was gone. He leaped off Shiro's leg and pronounced, "Then I better make the most of it!" 

The remainder of the night was dedicated to setting up the exhibit hall and getting to know all of the statues that were in the collection. Hunk went over the rules with all of them: you can't go outside in the morning or you'll turn to dust, if you ever hear a person coming you should freeze in your spot, and by the end of the night you have to be back in your exhibit. The group helped all he sculptures get situated on their pedestals.

Shiro lifted Lance to his. "Man, you are strong!" Lance complimented the warrior.

That caused Shiro to blush a bit. "Thank you. If you're up to it, I could give you a private tour tomorrow..."

Keith came over and elbowed Shiro. "Smooth," he said flatly.

"Shut it Mullet," Lance said to Keith as he put his hands on his hips. Keith glared and made his way to the exit with Hunk. "That would be lovely," Lance said with a large smile. 

"Thank you for giving me the honor." Shiro gently took Lance's small hand in his own and gave it a gentle kiss. If Lance could blush, he knew he would be red. 

A few "ooo's" and "aw's" were heard from the other statues.

"Stop it guys!" Lance nearly screamed. "Sorry about them." 

Shiro smiled down to him. "It's not a problem Lance, see you tomorrow." Lance smiled back and then went into his pose.

Shiro hurriedly exited the exhibit and made his way to his own wing. He almost jumped when he was flanked on both sides by Keith and Hunk, each giving him shit eating grins. "What?"

"You like him," Hunk sing-songed. 

"I may be eternally grateful towards you but that doesn't mean I won't lock you in your sarcophagus for a week." Hunk quickly took a turn and made his way to his own exhibit. "And you," Shiro said as he looked to Keith. "He's right, you do have a mullet." Keith playfully shoved him as they put their helmets back on and got ready to go to sleep.


	2. An Exciting Night at the Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and the other statues from the Degas exhibit spend their first full night in the museum on a tour. Even though Shiro wants to be a good guide, he can't help but be annoyed that Lance and Matt are getting so close.

The next night began like all the others, except this time Shiro had something to look forward to. “Would you mind if I just gave the tour to Lance tonight?” Shiro asked his best friend. 

Keith looked at him with a blank expression. “Why would I care?”

They exited the exhibit and made their way to the Degas collection. “I don't know, in case you felt like I was excluding you.”

Keith snorted at that. “Oh no, I'll miss out on all your puppy dog eyes and bad pick up lines. Also I don't really feel the need to be insulted by Lance again.”

“He was just teasing,” Shiro said. They got to the room to see all the sculptures standing in a circle and discussing something. They all turned and Lance ran out from the huddle. 

“Hi Shiro!” Lance said with the brightest smile he’d ever seen. Shiro had to center himself or else he would melt then and there. “Hey Keith.” The grumpy samurai gave him a nod. 

“How did you sleep Lance?” Shiro asked. 

Lance’s smile dimmed a bit a that. “It was good. A little different…” Shiro realized he hit a sore spot, but before he could apologize Lance was back to his thousand watt smile. “So, I was talking to my sisters-”

“Are those all your sisters?” Keith asked as he looked towards the group of ballerinas staring at them. 

“Yeah, they just feel like family ya know? Well, they were wondering if they could join our tour. My big sister lives here but they want you two to show them around.” Shiro tried not to show his disappointment, but Lance could see. “They think you’re both really cute,” Lance whispered the last part.

“Of course we’d love to show them around. Right Keith?” Keith just grunted and nodded. “That's a yes.”

“Awesome! And once the tour is done maybe we can just hang out?” Lance said as he rocked on the balls of his feet. 

‘Be still my beating heart,’ was the only thing Shiro could think. When it took Shiro an extra moment, Keith answered for him.

“We’d love to.” 

“Great, come on girls!” Lance said as he waved the others over. The girls swarmed the two men, so much so that Lance knew he wouldn't be able to speak to them until after. 

Their tour began with Lance behind the main group. He watched as Shiro interacted with his sisters and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Shiro was so nice to everyone, maybe him being nice to Lance last night wasn't anything special.

About halfway through the tour Matt joined them. He would hang back with Lance and point out his favorite exhibits. “I like that one because it looks like a butt.” That got a laugh out of the dancer. Sometimes he made fun of Shiro and his commentary, Lance giggling along to everything.

It was at that point that Shiro had gone into autopilot so he could try and listen in on the conversation. Keith wasn't paying attention in the first place so neither of them realized where they were walking. “And here is the Amazon room, home to creatures native of that rainforest.” The dancers all watched in amazement as beautiful birds and butterflies flew around.

“Shiro, maybe we shouldn't stay in here,” Matt advised. 

“Why not? They seem to be enjoying it.” It was at this point that Shiro turned and saw Lance wasn't with Matt. The girls all came running back to the men and hid behind them.

“There's something coming!” one of them cried. Keith and Shiro both readied their swords while Matt got out his flashlight.

From behind one of the trees a growl could be heard. A jaguar made its way out into the open and bared its teeth. Shiro could tell it was about to pounce but before it could Lance came out of nowhere and tackled the beast to the ground. “Run!” The young man shouted as he got up and made his way towards the group. 

Shiro and Keith made their way to the doors and once Lance made his way through they slammed them shut. Clawing could be heard from the other side of the door. “You'll have to buff that out later Matt,” Shiro said with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, thanks for that. Really quick, new rule: no one go in there.” Matt said as he gave Shiro a sidelong look.

“I think that's enough of a tour for tonight. Matt, how about you and I take the girls back to their exhibit hall.” As Keith walked by Shiro, he gave him a wink. 

“Yeah, sure. And now we get all the babes to ourselves!” Matt whispered to the other.

Keith gave him a deadpanned look. “I'm gay Matt.”

“Even better! This way ladies,” Matt said.

Shiro and Lance watched as they left. “They'll be all over him,” Lance said with a small laugh. He was still a bit out of breath.

“Lance, what you did in there was one of the bravest things I've ever seen.” Shiro said as he looked Lance straight in the eyes.

Lance was sure that if he could blush, he would be completely red. He pointed his eyes to the ground and put a hand on the back of his neck. “Well, I mean… I just figured I weigh a lot and that might throw the thing off balance.”

“That doesn't make what you did any less heroic.” Aside from being asked to model for one of the worlds greatest artists, this was one of the most flattering moments of Lance’s life. 

“Anyone would have done it.”

Shiro got on one knee. “Lance, will you please take the compliment?” 

Lance switched from bashful to cocky in an instant. “Well if you insist.” 

Shiro smiled and then held out his hand. “May I?” Lance nodded. Before he knew it he was being lifted onto Shiro’s shoulder. 

“I think you would be excellent at ballet,” Lance smiled. The rest of the night was filled with riding around on Shiro’s shoulder. Occasionally, Lance would ask to be put down and he would try to get Shiro to dance and spin around with him. Shiro’s heart hadn't felt this light in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the chapter was a bit short, I wanted to get it published since I hand't posted for a few days. The next one will be longer!


	3. Visit From a "Benefactor"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finds new hope as Allura, one of the museum's directors, promises to purchase him from the collection. But what happens when one of the museum's largest investors pays Lance's exhibit a visit?

It seemed like another normal night. It was nearing the end of June and Lance still had about three more weeks in the museum. Lance danced with his sisters as Shiro watched from the side of the room, the young man occasionally throwing small glances towards the warrior. Shiro could feel his heart beat out of his chest every time he got a look from Lance. After a few hours of dancing Lance and Shiro would roam the museum together, but before that could happen an announcement was made over the intercom. "If all exhibits could report to the main hall please, I have to go over a few things." 

"Who was that?" Lance asked as he looked up to Shiro. 

"That was Allura, she is one of the directors of the museum," Shiro explained. "Would you like to walk there or-"

"I want to ride there!" Lance exclaimed. Shiro's face lit up at the small grabby hands Lance did. He picked up the dancer and placed him on his shoulder. "Now run!"

"Well I don't want you to fall off so we'll walk, okay?" Shiro laughed as Lance huffed. They made their way to the main hall, Keith and Hunk standing by the balcony overlooking the floor below. Shiro placed Lance along the railing so his legs were dangling off, but he put his hands around the other's stomach to ensure he wouldn't fall. 

"Is that her?" Lance asked as he pointed to a woman with platinum blond hair and dark skin. She was well dressed and had a serious look on her face. When she looked up to the group on the balcony she gave a small smile and a nod. Lance watched as Hunk, Keith, and Shiro nodded back so he did the same. That earned a small chuckle from the woman. 

"Everyone is here," Matt called as he made his way to Allura. "Or at least everyone who could be." 

"Excellent. Thank you all for coming. I've called you here tonight to inform you that Lotor Daibazaal will be visiting the museum tomorrow night."

"Who is that?" Lance whispered up to Shiro, but his question was answered by Allura.

"Many of you know that he is a benefactor of the museum," Allura explained to the exhibits. "I tried to get him to come in during the day but he insists on coming at night in order to observe the works in peace. He will be looking at the Degas exhibit." That excited Lance! Someone was coming in just to look at him and his sisters.

"Once he has left the premises an announcement will be made and you can all roam for the remainder of the night. Thank you, that will be all." Allura made her way up the grand staircase and approached Hunk. "I believe it would have been easier to just not use the tablet for the night Hunk."

"I'm sorry Allura, but I'd rather not after that last incident..." 

"Oooo, what happened!" Lance exclaimed.

"One of the curators tried to steal the tablet from the museum by reversing one of the tiles and then sneaking it out at night," Keith explained. 

"Well me and Katie stopped him," Matt said as he made his way up the stairs. 

"Who's Katie?" Lance asked.

Allura could have squealed at that. "Oh, you are just too cute!" Lance took the compliment in stride. 

"Why thank you, you should be in this museum considering what a piece of art you are," Lance said with a smirk. Keith slapped his forehead at that. 

"And a charmer," Allura said with a smile. "I wish we had enough funds to add you to the museum's collection permanently." 

Lance had a shocked expression on his face. "You can do that?" Lance asked.

"Well you are one of the pieces that is for purchase in the collection," Allura explained. 

"Buy me, please, I want to stay here!" 

"I'm afraid it already cost a great deal to bring the collection here," Allura said sadly.

"I'm rich, I can pay it," Hunk said.

"All of your assets, and you, belong to the museum Hunk. And we will not sell your family heirlooms on the black market."

Hunk gave a pout. "Sorry buddy, I tried." 

"Hopefully you will still be for sale when we get the proper funding, and then we can purchase you Lance," Allura said as she gave the young man a small pat on the head.

"How did you know my name?" Lance asked.

"Shiro talks about you all the time when he comes to visit me in my office." Shiro's face turned a deep shade of red after that. 

"How about we go Lance," he asked as he picked up Lance and put him on his shoulder. 

"Wait, what do you say about me?" he asked in Shiro's ear, but the warrior ignored it. "What does he say about me?" he called back to Allura, but they rounded the corner before she could answer. 

Allura's smile dropped off her face when Matt asked her a simple question. "What happens if Lotor buys Lance?"

"Simple, the statue will be his," Allura said. "He can do whatever he sees fit with it." 

"You know the only reason he donates to the museum is to get first pick whenever a piece is for sale." Allura made to glare at the night guard, but she couldn't quite pull it off.

"I know, but we can't deny his donations. And the chances of him buying Lance are-"

"Very high." Allura looked over and saw Pidge approach the group. "You know that he is one of the only pieces for sale in that collection." 

The group remained silent. "Someone should tell Lance," Keith said. "If none of you want to then I will." 

"I'll do it," Pidge said. "I'll tell him before he goes to sleep tonight. I'll be in the hall anyway getting the statues ready. And I'll do my best to steer Lotor away from Lance." They all agreed with the plan, and went their separate ways for the night.

\---

"Hello Mr. Daibazaal," Pidge said with a pleasant tone.

"Katherine." Pidge had to stop her eye from twitching, she hates that name. "I am excited to see these pieces."

"They are very lovely, but not all of them are for sale." The plan was simple, explain how none of the "dancers" were for sale and only direct Lotor towards the other statues. Technically Lance was a dancer, just not a female ballerina. 

"None of the statues of dancers are on sale so it would probably be better to skip over those since we have limited time." They entered the exhibit and Pidge walked over to a statue of a woman in a tub. "This piece is very famous-"

"Do you know anything of this piece?" Lotor interrupted. Pidge looked over to where he had wandered to and of course it had to be Lance.

"That is a sculpture of the dancer Lance McClain. He modeled for Degas during the summer of 1894. He came from Cuba and was in Paris studying dance when the artist found him." Pidge didn't like the way Lotor was eyeing her friend.

"May I?" Pidge nodded. Lotor took his hand and ran it down the back of the sculpture's spine. Lance had to withhold a shiver for fear of Lotor finding out the secret. "It's so very lifelike." Then he delicately put a finger below Lance's chin.

'Don't move, don't move, don't move,' Lance could only think to himself. Lotor pulled away and began walking towards the exit.

"Is that one which the collector would be willing to part with?" Lotor asked.

"I don't believe so," Pidge said as she checked her clipboard. Lance breathed out a small sigh of relief and closed his eyes, but he quickly resumed his pose as Lotor whipped around. "There are only a few that the collector wants to sell." 

Lotor looked over her shoulder. "Isn't it that one, 'Graceful Young Man?'" he said pointing it out. A small smile came upon his face. "It hasn't been spoken for. I'm done for tonight." 

"You don't want to look at the rest?" Pidge implored. 

"No, I will be adding this one to my private collection." Lance felt his heart shatter. "If you could send me the contact information of the seller please." Pidge gave a small nod. "I'll see myself to the front doors."

Once the steps had faded into nothing, Lance sat on his pedestal. It wasn't possible for him to cry, but if he could Pidge knew she would see tears streaming down his face. "I knew I couldn't stay here Pidge. Even then, it would have been fine if I wasn't separated from all of my sisters." Pidge wrapped her arms around Lance. "I don't want to be a part of some snooty guys collection. What? Am I not good enough to be part of this one? Is that why I'm on sale?"

"No Lance! That's not why. The current collector is selling off any statue that is not a female ballerina." Lance looked up to her. 

"But I'm a dancer too..." Pidge helped him hop off the pedestal and walked him to the Japan exhibit. Only after they left did the other pieces of art begin to move, heartbroken by what just occurred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this chapter! The next chapter is half done and someone who isn't supposed to see the exhibits awake does. There was a reference to the first Night at the Museum when the tablet was stolen and that is my cheap excuse for why Lance was awake when Lotor visited :P Thank you for reading!


	4. The Last Few Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this was so late! The last chapter is done, I just have to rework some things and it should be posted by the end of the week.  
> Also, I realized I could have called this story "Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer" and I'm mad I didn't realize it earlier. Enjoy!

The night before the Degas exhibit was meant to be packed away, a gala was thrown on the lower levels of the museum. So of course the only room on the upper level that was opened had to be the Degas exhibit. 

Lance couldn't believe it. One of the last few nights he got to spend with his friends and this happens. He wanted to shake in fury, but he knew he couldn't. Allura explained how eventually everyone would be ushered out to the lower level, but Lance couldn't wait. It was around 11 o'clock when the people were sent out of the room. 'Jeez, old people sure can party,' he thought. As soon as the footsteps faded away, Lance jumped off the pedestal and ran to the Japan exhibit. 

Little did he know a certain benefactor had slipped around security and was going to check on his piece. Lotor entered the exhibit, only to be confused by seeing some of the statues on the ground. They were all in their designated pose, but why were they off their pedestals? He looked around to find his purchase was gone. He began searching the other exhibit halls, finding it odd how some statues and paintings weren't the same as he remembered. Eventually he heard faint voices and followed them to the Asia wing of the museum.

He had found the source of the voices and was about to fully round the corner when he saw something... odd, to say the least. A samurai from this exhibit hall holding his statue in it's arms.

\---

"It's my last night getting to be alive with my sisters and they have to throw a stupid gala," Lance said to Shiro. He rested on the man's chest. 

"We have a night after the gala, Lance," Shiro reminded. 

"Pidge has to pack us up, that doesn't leave any time..." Shiro sighed. He petted Lance's head. He wondered what it would feel like to feel Lance's actual hair. He imagined it was soft. He felt a tear form at the corner of his eye.

Lance looked up at him and using his tiny hand he wiped the tear away. Shiro smiled and kissed Lance's forehead. "Not a single night will go by when I don’t think of you and your smile." Lance wanted to break down at that.

"If I could cry you know I would be," he said with a small laugh. He once again rested his head on Shiro's chest. "Now that I know what it's like to be awake, I'm afraid to go to sleep." 

Lotor had no idea what was going on but before he could intrude on their moment, a sword was held to his neck. He slowly turned to see another samurai accompanied by Katherine Holt. He was about to speak but was interrupted by a nearly silent, "Follow me," from the woman.

The sword was removed from his neck, only for the samurai to go behind him and hold the sword to his back. Lotor followed the curator towards the Egyptian exhibit. They entered the area and Lotor watched as the giant stone guards above him followed his every move. 

"How could you let this happen!" Allura said from the end of the exhibit hall. "Mr. Daibazaal, I must ask why you came to the second level after it became closed to guests. Keith put your sword down." The samurai did as he was told.

"I only wanted to look at the piece from the Degas exhibit which I purchased," he explained. 

Banging was heard from behind them and Pidge worked to push the top of Hunk's sarcophagus off of him. "Thank you guyyyssswhy is Lotor here?" 

"What is going on?" Lotor screeched. While Hunk explained the tablet to him, Pidge, Allura, and Keith were having a separate conversation. 

"How about we threaten to kill him if he doesn't let Lance stay here," Keith said while Pidge nodded her head. 

"We can't do that!" Allura chastised. "What we have to worry about is making sure he doesn't tell anyone about the tablet."

"I won't be doing that," Lotor interrupted. The group whipped around. "Hunk informed me of the curse that comes with this knowledge and I would not want to invoke that." The group gave him a puzzled look before Hunk gave them a thumbs up from behind Lotor's back.

"Oh yeah, you don't want to get cursed," Pidge said. 

"Nope, not good," Keith agreed. 

"And I assume when you speak of Lance you mean the statue which I purchased." The group stiffened at that. "It seems you have all grown close with him, especially the samurai I saw with him." Keith's grip on his sword tightened when Lotor mentioned Shiro. "I'm afraid I purchased him first and I will not be parting with him anytime soon."

"How about you donate him to the museum?" Keith asked. Lotor gave the man a strange look.

"With how much I already give don't you think asking for more is a bit rude?" 

Before anything could escalate, two figures walked in from the end of the exhibit hall. "What's going on?" the larger one asked. As they walked closer it was clearly Shiro hand in hand with Lance. 

Lotor pushed his way past the group. He stopped in front of Lance and was about to speak but the warrior moved so he was standing in front of the statue. As such, Lotor instead looked the samurai in the eye. "May I assume you were Lance's primary caretaker during his time at the museum?" The grip on Shiro's sword tightened. 

"I would like to think I'm more than that," Shiro said, his eyes hard as steel. Lotor looked unimpressed. 

"Thank you for your... services." He then tried to get a proper look at the statue. "Lance." The young man moved so that he could look at the man. "Could I hear your voice once before I go?" 

Lance's grip on Shiro's leg tightened and with all his strength asked a simple question. "Could I stay at the museum, please?" Lotor gave the young man a hard stare and then got on one knee.

"But you will look so beautiful in my collection." He made to reach out to the statue but Shiro had finally had enough. He drew his sword and held the tip to Lotor's neck. 

"I suggest you leave." Lotor slowly stood and made his way to the exit of the Egyptian wing. Shiro delicately picked up Lance and carried him around the museum. Lance clung to him as if it was the last night they'd spend together.

\---

When the Degas statues awoke they were surprised to feel fabric covering their eyes. “Nobody take off your blindfold! You have to wait.” That was Pidge.

“How long do we have to wait, this is our last night,” Lance said as he put his hand on his hip. 

“Just one minute.” Lance and the other statues listened for movement around the room. Once all was silent, Pidge said, “Now you can take them off.”

All the statues removed their blindfolds to be met with a large cheer of, “Surprise!” The room had been decorated with colorful streamers and balloons. 

“We like to throw surprise parties for visiting exhibits before they leave. We would of had the party last night, but the gala put us off track,” Allura explained. 

All of the statues hopped off their pedestals and began mingling. Lance approached Shiro and motioned for the warrior to take a knee. Shiro wore a small smile on his face as Lance approached and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Shiro quickly picked the young man up in a hug and spun him around. 

“This will be the best night yet,” Lance whispered into his ear. 

“Well I've got another surprise for you,” Shiro said back. “But you have to wait.”

Lance partied and danced with his sisters and friends, looking back at Shiro every few minutes with a silent, “Now?” on his lips. It was halfway through the night when Shiro finally nodded and Lance made a hasty retreat into Shiro’s arms once again. 

“What’s the surprise?” Lance asked.

Shiro swore that he could see Lance’s eyes shinning, even if they were only bronze. “Somewhere I should have taken you a long time ago.”

Shiro walked them to the space wing and Lance looked at him in confusion. “We've been here before.”

“But you haven't come in here.” Shiro approached a large set of double doors and took out a key card.

“Did you steal Matt’s ID?” 

“Keith stole it, I'm just borrowing it from him,” Shiro explained earning a snigger from Lance.

They entered the room and Lance’s breath was instantly taken away. Above them was a dome that held the entire night sky. “If I had known this place existed, we would have come here every night,” Lance said with a far off look in his eyes. 

Shiro sat them in one of the chairs and Lance rested on his lap. Lance would ask about and point out certain stars and Shiro would tell him which constellations they were a part of. At one point, a shooting star made its way across the sky. “Make a wish,” Shiro whispered.

“You too,” Lance said as he looked up to Shiro’s face. 

“I'll wish for whatever you wish for.” Lance stood and wrapped his arms around Shiro’s shoulders. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. Then someone cleared their throat from the entrance of the observatory.

“Sunrise in half an hour,” Matt said from the doorway. Lance pulled away from Shiro and jumped to the floor. 

“Let's go get ready for bed, muscle man,” Lance said with a pep in his step. Shiro was quick to follow and on the way out gave Matt back his ID. 

“You might want to invest in a better badge clip,” Shiro said to an indignant Matt. Lance grabbed Shiro’s hand and they made their way through the museum one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left...

**Author's Note:**

> Degas made many statues, but I wasn't able to find any male ballerinas. That'll come in later.  
> Next chapter should be up soon, everything is already written out but I have to make some touch ups.  
> Tell me what you think! Comments and kudos appreciated.


End file.
